Good morning.
Today brings a day of increasing clouds, and a high of thirty-three. We’ll have 9h 10m of sunlight, 10h 14m of daylight, and tomorrow will be one minute shorter.
The Golden Gate bridge’s construction began on 1.5.33:
On this day in 1933, construction starts on what will become one of America’s most famous landmarks: the Golden Gate Bridge. When completed in 1937, the Golden Gate has a 4,200-foot-long suspension span, making it the world’s longest suspension bridge. [Adams: it’s one of the longest, but neither the longest in North America nor the world. Here’s a list of the world’s longest suspension bridges.] Since opening to the public in May 1937, almost 2 billion vehicles have crossed the bridge, in both the north- and southbound directions.
The bridge was named not for its distinctive orange color (which provides extra visibility to passing ships in San Francisco‘s famous fog), but for the Golden Gate Strait, where the San Francisco Bay opens into the Pacific Ocean. The bridge spans the strait and connects the northern part of the city of San Francisco to Marin County, California.
Prior to the bridge’s construction, the only way to travel between these two areas was by ferry boat.
Golden Gate Bridge
On this day in 1855, a famous inventor is born:
1855 – King Camp Gillette Born
On this date King Camp Gillette was born in Fond du Lac. He worked for many years as a traveling salesman. After much experimentation, he developed a disposable steel blade and razor. He established the Gillette Safety Razor Company in 1901. Sales for his product skyrocketed. Gillette remained president of his company until 1931 and was a director until his death the following year. [Source: Lemelson-MIT Program]Drawing from US patent 775,134 (safety razor)
From Google-a-Day, a question about a play’s name: “What is the name of the play in which Tom’s older sister withdraws into a fantasy life she has created amid her collection of glass animal figurines?”